Key facts
- Tigray forces seized the airport in Mekelle, the regional capital, from federal police.
- Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights to Mekelle, Shire, and Axum.
- A drone strike in Alamata on Tuesday killed at least 14 civilians and injured 22, according to Tigrayan authorities.
- The US State Department condemned a separate drone strike targeting a food aid convoy.
Local forces in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region have seized control of the airport in the regional capital, Mekelle, from federal police, local residents told the BBC. Ethiopian Airlines has suspended flights to Mekelle and the cities of Shire and Axum due to the "current situation" in Tigray.
Escalating tensions between the government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) have fueled fears of a return to civil war. On Sunday, the TPLF announced an alliance with six armed groups in Ethiopia to remove the government in Addis Ababa. A two-year war in Tigray ended in November 2022, but both sides are now accusing each other of violating the African Union-mediated peace deal.
The flight suspension follows reported drone strikes in Tigray. On Tuesday, a strike in the southern town of Alamata killed at least 14 people and injured 22 others, according to the Tigrayan authorities. The town's mayor, Mogos Shiferaw, told the BBC that multiple drones and a fighter jet carried out over 21 strikes, accusing federal forces of targeting two secondary schools on suspicion they were being used by Tigrayan forces. The schools were reportedly unoccupied as the academic year had not yet begun.
The BBC has not independently verified the allegations, and the government has not publicly commented. On Wednesday, the Tigray authorities accused Addis Ababa of launching an open invasion and urged people to support regional forces. The US State Department's Bureau of African Affairs condemned a separate drone strike on Monday that targeted a convoy of Catholic vehicles carrying food aid, calling for an investigation and urging dialogue.